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All Rise...

Appellate Judge James A. Stewart's not only brilliant, but also modest.

The Charge

"Are we really alive, or are we really figments of our
imagination?"

Opening Statement

There are some of you out there in DVD Verdict land who might know Dudley
Moore from starring vehicles like Arthur but not realize that he had a
"but also," a partner in comedy named Peter Cook. Strangely enough,
the BBC's site on Not Only…But Also…, the TV series that
showcased the comedy in question, notes that the British broadcaster had planned
to send Moore out solo. Instead, they added Cook, one of the men who had shared
London and Broadway stages with Moore in the popular Beyond the Fringe
comedy review.

Moore was not only a comedian, but also a pianist. In the show, he switches
from cool comedy with Cook to cool jazz with the Dudley Moore trio, often
accompanying the requisite musical guests.

Not Only…But Also… ran for 22 episodes over three seasons
(1965, 1966, and 1970), but much of it was tossed out by the BBC, a move that
its executives probably regretted dearly a few years later as the likes of
Monty Python's Flying Circus and The Good Neighbors began endless
reruns on public television stations stateside.

The Best of…What's Left of…Not Only…But Also…
was a 1990 TV compilation of Cook's and Moore's favorite sketches. "The
Best of…" was naturally limited by the "What's Left
of…" The sketches may not be the show's best, but they seem to be a
representative sample.

Facts of the Case

The Best of…What's Left of…Not Only…But Also…
features six episodes cobbled together in 1990, mostly in black-and-white, but
with color segments from 1970. Sketches include
"Superthunderstingcar," a parody of Gerry Anderson supermarionation
shows featuring Peter Cook and Dudley Moore as puppets, Moore reading an Edward
Lear poem with oddball visuals from Cook, and Cook as a cyclist who's lost his
bicycle race and asks highway line painter Moore for directions. Not only that,
but several episodes also have an exchange between oddball characters Pete and
Dud. Musical guests include Marian Anderson, Cilla Black, and Goldie and the
Gingerbreads. John Lennon appears, but in his capacity as a poet.

The Evidence

The first episode opens with Peter Cook and Dudley Moore in a dressing room.
They head out, not onto a stage, but onto the deck of a ship, where they sit
down at the piano. As Moore starts to play and the show begins, the piano is
lifted off the ship's deck and plunged into the water. Moore and Cook keep
singing, sort of, underwater—until a mermaid goes by. Cook swims off in
pursuit, while Moore rides after her on a bicycle that's conveniently lying on
the sea bottom. Each episode has a similar grand opening; often, these feature
the show's title writ large, superimposed onto a mountain or a road.

What follows is a typical variety show mixture of songs and sketches on a
set reminiscent of the Beyond the Fringe stage set. The film editors did
a seamless enough job that the first three Best of episodes look like
ordinary episodes of a variety show rather than a compilation. The editing shows
only in the last three episodes, when color segments from 1970 are mixed in with
the black-and-white segments.

The high point is the "Pete and Dud" sketches, of which there are
four (although the pair pops up in that bonus documentary). As the two working
stiffs, the comedians riff a variety of topics. At the zoo, Pete tells the story
of how geckos came to eat bugs. At a museum, they ponder whether the bottoms in
a nude painting will follow them around the room. In a pub, their tall tales of
romance include Betty Grable, Greta Garbo, and Jane Russell. Even in Heaven, the
pair can't stop complaining; "No toilets. There's no angelic
conveniences," Dud says. These sketches show that Cook and Moore are at
their best when they're just let loose in a simple setting. When watching, I
could see why these sketches are the show's most-remembered legacy.

One of their favorite gimmicks is the narrated sketch, under which Cook and
Moore ham it up. The best of these were a French tourist film which sends
viewers to a chips shop in search of fine cuisine and a documentary on
"Bargo," which features Cook as a reclusive screen star a la Greta
Garbo. In one of these, John Lennon joins in the antics as his poem is read.
Another favorite theme of Cook and Moore is the TV guest spot. These usually
center on an offbeat guest, but my favorite put a relatively subdued Cook as an
artist in the hands of obnoxious stage manager Moore.

Cook and Moore play nearly all the roles. In one sketch,
"Superthunderstingcar," the big joke seems to be their frequent
costume changes and the editing to put several characters in the scene.

Although comedy is the main attraction, I liked Moore's musical numbers a
lot. The best is a duet between Marian Anderson and a silly voiced Moore, who
closes his eyes to play the piano when Anderson sings "Close Your
Eyes." Moore's music and comedy merge excellently in a sketch which casts
him as Beethoven in a variety special, with Cook reading poetry as Wordsworth
accompanied by a production number.

Picture and sound quality are variable. After all, this was recovered from
the rubbish. That, combined with some silly accents, means you'll miss lines at
times.

For a bonus, there's Success Story: Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, a
1974 BBC documentary that catches up with the pair in New York as they star in
the sketch review Good Evening. It's well done with lots of clips, but
it's strange viewing today, knowing that the comedy team would soon split. You
should watch it, though, since Dudley Moore's best moment of breaking up
laughing—which the DVD cover says is one of the show's
hallmarks—turns up here. It would have been nice to see a complete Not
Only…But Also… episode, if they exist, as an extra.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

If you've seen Beyond the Fringe, you'll note that the style's the
same, even down to the set, but the humor's more scattershot. If you've been
anticipating the funniest thing in the world because of the show's rarity,
Not Only…But Also… could be a letdown.

Also, a sketch that casts Dudley Moore as black pianist Bo Dudley comes
across as tasteless as Moore and Peter Cook parse the lyrics of "Mama's Got
a Brand New Bag" and make dubious observations on Harlem life.

Closing Statement

If you've already seen and liked Beyond the Fringe, you'll probably
enjoy The Best of…What's Left of…Not Only…But
Also…. Not everything's a gem, thanks to the demands of TV and the
"What's left of" caveat, but there's enough good stuff here, with
those Pete and Dud sketches sealing the deal.

The Verdict

Not guilty, but also a reprimand for the BBC for destroying years of great
comedy.

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